


Secret Service Details

by ellabell



Category: Warehouse 13
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-15
Updated: 2015-07-21
Packaged: 2018-03-30 16:48:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 22,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3944224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellabell/pseuds/ellabell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An AU where the Warehouse doesn't exist, where Claudia has an uncle, and things still end up being much the same. </p><p>Myka and Pete are Secret Service agents about to get a new assignment, during which Myka meets the beautiful and enigmatic Emily Lake.  Bering and Wells.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to typey for the beta and littlebabycats for the encouragement. Any remaining mistakes are my own. Written for Bering and Wells AU week. (actually, started for the last one, and finally got to a point in the story where I feel safe posting for this one.) (rated T for now, rating likely to go up later.)

 

Myka hadn't actually _met_ this President before now, though she had been in his presence many times, at any number of post-election events and consultations with congressional leaders. She and Pete had even been asked to organize the security for one of the Inauguration balls a month earlier.

But this was a completely different matter.

They hadn't been given any warning that they’d be summoned to the Oval Office that morning, and the two of them were standing stiffly and formally in their everyday plain black suits.

"This isn't the first time you've saved a member of the United States government's life," the President said, flipping through a file as he leaned casually against his desk, and then looking up, as if he had asked a question.

"No, sir," her partner responded, letting a small but proud smile settle against his lips. "Though, this was simply pulling the Congressman out of the way of a busy intersection. It hardly compares." He waited, and only spoke again when the President motioned for him to continue. "Agent Bering and I were lead agents at the event during the attempt on your predecessor's life at the museum gala."

The man looked impressed, though Myka was sure that he had already read all the details from the incident and that those details were in the file he was holding. "And how has your career been since then?"

Without even looking, she could tell that Pete wanted her to field that answer. "It's been exceptional, sir. We were promoted and have been given higher priority protectees," she answered flatly, though it was something that she had been proud of. Between her meticulous eye for detail and Pete's irrefutable instincts, they were the pair that everyone else in the service was talking about, the ones who everyone said would be taking over bigger and bigger files.

Myka had begun to believe it, too, that with the new administration, they would get a permanent assignment; that the buzz surrounding their names would lend itself to getting them a more interesting detail. But nothing had materialized yet. Myka and Pete had talked about it before, wondering why they had seemingly been passed over, and there was only one explanation they could come up with.

On each of their records, there was a blemish. For Pete, it was the meetings that he still attended each week. Alcoholism was not uncommon in law enforcement, but the stigma remained at the highest levels. And for her...

_Sam._   The name came unbidden and she swallowed hard, keeping her feelings in check. This was not the time to think about that day in Denver, what had prompted the transfer to DC in the first place, to that day that she was just seconds too late —

"Sir," Pete prompted when she had been silent too long, and she knew that he had picked up on her train of thought. It was almost unnatural how well he knew her, sometimes. "Is there anything we can do for you?"

She would give him a grateful smile later, but she knew that he already understood. Still, she maintained her stoic demeanour as the President examined both of them, and then looked back down in the folder in his hands. "Come back tomorrow. You can coordinate with my executive secretary."

And just like that, they were dismissed.

 

* * *

 

Mrs. Frederic was a stern, no-nonsense woman who managed to run the President's office with skill and grace. Still, it was impossible, even for her and her staff, to keep the President _always_ on time.

So, when Myka and Pete arrived for their follow-up meeting, she dismissed them with barely a glance. "He's in with his niece," she said with a wave. "Wait in the Roosevelt Room, someone will collect you shortly."

Myka pursed her lips, but Pete simply shrugged.   A few minutes' delay wasn’t going to impede his certainty that they were finally going to get stationed inside the White House, maybe even on the President’s own detail. They had run through all the possible reasons for a second Oval Office meeting in two days, and Myka had agreed the most likely one was that they were getting reassigned, that this was the break that they had been waiting for. And waiting in the room across the hall wasn't going to change or delay the ultimate goal she'd had mapped out since getting her badge.

(How wrong they were.)

 

* * *

 

It always surprised Myka, a little bit, when she spoke to Arthur Nielsen, the head of the presidential detail — he was older, obviously not field qualified, short, and famously short-tempered. The man didn't come close to what someone would expect from a Secret Service agent, but his ascent to the top job had not followed any kind of expected path. Instead, someone had seen something in him when he had been at the NSA, in his ability to recognize patterns and keep a team on mission that they knew would transfer to organizing the many agents that would work under him.

But after being made to wait for half an hour in an ornate conference room with the President's two daughters, their nanny, and the agent who was normally assigned to his niece, it was a relief to see the brusque man, even if their meeting with the President had been cancelled.

Half an hour with a child and a pre-teen instead of their father. Of _course_ Pete had immediately made friends with the younger of the two: eight years old with a wild mess of frizzy red hair, freckles scattered across her nose, wide eyes, and a mischievous smile. Of _course_ Pete had Cara in giggles in no time, and yet somehow still had her finishing the worksheet in front of her.

And it was really no surprise to Myka that she had been drawn to the quieter girl, the solemn twelve year old whose straight auburn hair was tied back into a French braid, much like her own. Caitlin was half way through reading To Kill a Mockingbird, and had noticed Myka's soft smile of recognition. "Do you like this book, Agent?" she had asked politely, and Myka couldn't stop her movement toward the girl, nor could she stop her quiet excitement when she wanted to discuss some of the finer points of the book.

"You two," Nielsen said as he came into the room, making the children jump, but pointing at Pete and Myka. "Come with me." They were at the door ready to follow when Nielsen turned back and gestured to the other agent too. "Steve, you better come too."

The fact that Nielsen was even talking to them made Pete look giddy — and while Myka was sorting through probabilities based on the change of plans, she couldn't deny the fact that they were being led into the Chief of Staff's office. It looked like their predictions of joining the President's private detail were coming true.

A few minutes later, that dream was crushed.

They were _supposed_ to be promoted to the President's private detail. It was _supposed_ to be a reassignment after years of exemplary service.

Of _course_ their interactions had been observed — probably set up, someone having seen a different potential in the two agents apart from their ability to protect the President and control his environment.

Instead they were... babysitting?

 

* * *

 

"I'm sorry sir, our detail is what?" Pete asked again, and Myka had trouble containing her eyeroll.

"The primary agent on each of the children," Artie, repeated. "The two of you will each be in charge of a team to guard the children, taking a lead role in protecting them yourselves."

"We thought we were supposed to be on the President's detail," Pete tried again, looking to Myka for support, but she just continued to stand with her hands behind her back. She knew that no amount of asking or begging would change his mind — this was it. This was their assignment now.

She wasn't really surprised, though. Despite the fact that she was great at her job, she was always going to be carrying around that black mark on her record. The rumours would always follow her. She was just sorry that she was taking Pete down with her.

"Agent. Lattimer." Artie spat, and Pete adjusted his posture to mimic hers. "The President asked for you specifically, so this is your new assignment." He gazed over the two of them, and then inexplicably softened. "This is good, you two. You would have been wasted as mid-levels on the President's detail. This is a worthwhile assignment, I promise."

Myka looked over at Pete, and wordlessly, they came to some sort of agreement. Don't argue, and take the detail. They could probably figure out a way to transfer after a year or so. "Where do we start?"

"What do you two know about the family?"

Myka let Pete start, knowing she would cut in when he faltered. "Two daughters, eight and twelve. Private school, enrolled in sports and dance, both smart..." He shrugged. "Pretty standard stuff, except for —"

"—except for the niece and nephew, taken in by the President and the First Lady when his brother and sister-in-law were killed in a car accident _years_ ago." She glanced over at Agent Jinks, now understanding why he was in the room as well. "Joshua was quite a bit older, went off to college, and is now studying overseas. But Claudia had trouble adjusting to her new family, especially when the bigger campaigns began and she was forced into the spotlight. They opted to send her to one of those boarding schools well-acquainted with the...peculiarities of life for the children of the world's rich and powerful. She's in college now. The press love her."

Artie nodded. "But she hates the press. Some of the things they've written about her... well, it's not pretty. But that's not your primary concern." He handed them folders. "You've got homework. You start in two days. Use Agent Jinks as a resource." And with that, he was off.

Pete gingerly flipped through his folder before turning to Myka. "You wanna be my study buddy?" he asked, a childish grin coming over his features, so completely different from the arrogant fool she thought he was when they first met.

She smacked his arm. "C'mon. We'll get some pizza. I know you won't be able to read it unless I'm forcing — and feeding — you."

"You coming, Jinksy?"

He looked slightly startled at the sudden nickname, but then he shrugged. "I'm not needed for the rest of the night," he added, and then followed them out.

 

* * *

 

It was the first day of their new assignment, and Myka stood in front of her closet, cursing everything about it. "Lose the suits," Steve had said when she and Pete had bombarded him with questions that night while they were going over the files. "Lose the suits and gain their trust."

Even though she was alone in her apartment, she rolled her eyes. Earning the trust of the protectee was Secret Service 101. But blending in? She had always been one of the agents who was _supposed_ to be noticed, one of the many who was supposed to stand out and show that anyone would be crazy to try to attack _this_ person. While Pete had looked overjoyed at the prospect of casual wear, she couldn't help but want to keep the starched button downs and jackets that hid their side arms. But Steve had said that the biggest thing he had to protect Claudia from was the press, and the best way for Myka to do that was by not drawing attention to herself, or her charge.

"I learned that one the hard way," Steve had admitted. "I was an ATF agent, what did I know about protecting an asset? But the Service was short on people who looked college aged, and I have a lot of experience going undercover. They needed someone to blend in. But I —" Steve had chuckled and had taken a swig of his drink before continuing his story. "I thought hey, it's the Secret Service, I should look the part. So showed up to my first day looking like I belonged on the set of Men in Black, sunglasses and all. Claudia took one look at me and burst out laughing, saying that she thought I was supposed to be _smart_." He had shrugged. "We got along great after that."

Pete had burst out laughing, and Myka smiled at the memory. She had felt animosity toward Steve when he first got assigned to Claudia, feeling like she had been replaced as the Service's new up-and-comer. But now, she understood it a bit better. Steve and Claudia could easily look like friends, while Myka and Pete would never quite pull that off.

And that was where Myka was now, staring at her closet, trying to find something to wear to the school that might _blend_ with the yuppie business casual that she expected from the rest of Cara and Caitlin's classmate's professional parents.

The nanny was the first one to greet Pete and Myka when they arrived at the East Wing to usher the kids to school. Myka had met Leena before, but she had never appreciated how warm and intuitive she was. "You'll fit right in," was the first thing she said to the pair, as her eyes focused somewhere above Myka's head, but then she returned Myka's grateful smile. "This is a good fit. None of the other agents worked, but you two really care." Focusing solely on Myka, she continued in a soft voice. "Caitlin's really shy right now. She's still adjusting to the most recent move, and she doesn't want to get attached. But she'll come around."   Leena then turned to Pete, and after a moment studying him, her smile grew radiant. "Your aura is perfectly in tune. It's very rare."

Myka and Pete exchanged a look as Leena continued to stare, but before they could answer, a young voice spoke up. "Leena _knows_ things," Cara said, depositing her school bag by their feet with a raised eyebrow, as if waiting for Pete to pick it up.

Pete squatted to her level. "You know the rules, kiddo," he said with a smile, and fixed the collar of her school uniform. "I can't hold any of your things. I gotta keep my hands free."

Myka hoped that her own bag of paperwork over her shoulder wouldn't cause problems with the younger girl, but she just sighed heavily and swung on her backpack. "But you seem _way_ cooler than the last guy."

"That's because I _am_ cooler!" Pete replied, straightening back up, and when he smiled, Cara returned his grin. Myka shook her head. Those two really were perfectly matched.

Myka was still nervous.

She supposed that the whole point of leaving them together in the Roosevelt Room last week was to make sure they got along with the kids; which, they did. It was actually a bit of a surprise to Myka how much she enjoyed discussing the book with Caitlin — Myka had never been one much for kids, but she supposed that Caitlin was moving into the teenager category. She remembered herself at that age — quiet, awkward, and mostly happy to be left alone, but ecstatic when someone noticed her hard work.

Of course, she also didn't have the paparazzi following her around, hoping to capture both every cute and every embarrassing moment.

For the first time, Myka felt like this assignment might be worth it, after all.

Caitlin finally came around the corner to meet them, and she eyed Myka warily. _Gain their trust_ circled around in her head, but Myka felt awkward. Steve mentioned to her once that he called Claudia all the time because they had become friends. Myka had scoffed at him, asking about professional boundaries, but he had just shrugged. "We have an entirely different job from anyone else in the Service. Sometimes we have to get... creative."

Myka had been reading the Secret Service training manual at the time and had frowned at it. It was when someone changed the plan – when someone hit their mark a moment too early – that was when disaster happened. She didn't like _creative._ Yet, that's what she would have to fall back on.

"Did you finish the book?" Myka found herself asking, and Caitlin nodded, but stayed silent. "Did you enjoy it?" Caitlin nodded again, and while it seemed that she might have wanted to answer, she didn't.

_Creative_ , Steve had said, and Myka had a bit of inspiration. She dug immediately into her shoulder bag, finally pulling out a well worn copy of The Time Machine. "I read this for the first time when I was about your age. I thought if you hadn't read it yet, maybe you'd like to?"

Caitlin finally came close and took the book, and Pete gave her a shrug. It was a beginning, at least.

Two days later, Caitlin had finished the book, and had warmed up considerably. A week in, and Myka had to remind herself that she was actually the girl's bodyguard, and not just her friend.

The detail was fairly standard at first: make sure the children made it from the East Wing to their classrooms without problem, which was when another agent took over, standing outside the classroom for the morning hours. The morning shifts were often taken over by other agents, but Myka liked spending time with Caitlin in the early parts of the day, before everything else started creeping into their own little world.

Myka and Pete sometimes returned for lunch, but for the most part, they returned at the end of the day or whenever there was a deviation from the normal school hours. They accompanied the girls to whichever activity they had, from piano to dance to soccer and everything in between, directing the other agents to their positions, calling for their drivers, and being near enough to the girls at all times to be able to pull them out of danger in seconds. Sometimes Leena would accompany them, especially if the girls' schedules didn't line up exactly, so Pete and Myka could commit fully to scanning the crowds and watching for anything out of place.

The weekends were when Pete and Myka were often the busiest, as those were the days that were not uniform. Each outing presented itself with its own set of challenges, and they all required careful planning, but Saturday mornings — when Claudia would take her cousins to a park, or a museum, or something else that was just for the three of them – were Myka's favourite.

Myka never saw Caitlin smile so much as when Claudia was with them.

Getting to see Steve had its perks too.

When Myka had started on Caitlin's detail, she had only met Claudia once before: at the Inaugural Ball that she had been managing. Myka had been doing her sweep through the kitchen when she saw her: standing tucked into a corner, typing furiously on her phone with one earphone in, her heels kicked off beside her, and pausing only to pull down the hem of her dress. When Myka went over to interrupt her, to ask her why she wasn't at the party, Claudia had nodded her head over to Steve (who was clearly still watching her, but was also smiling bashfully at one of the caterers), and then had only said, "What the frak's _magenta_ mean?"

Steve was at her side almost instantly, yanking out the earbud and taking her phone ("Hey!") and putting it in his pocket. "Sorry, Agent Bering, Claudia was just returning to the party, and was _not_ hacking into the secure frequencies, right, Claudia?"

Claudia rolled her eyes and grumbled. "Did you at least get his number?" Myka heard her ask, but before she heard an answer, Claudia had already pasted on a fake smile and walked back into the party with Agent Jinks at her side.

At that point she had no idea what to think of the Donovan niece, but now Myka realized that when she was out of the public eye, she was warm, sarcastic, smart, and playful — and nothing like the spoiled brat with mental issues that the press portrayed her as.

One Saturday morning about two months after Myka had started, Claudia had been scheduled for some press event (something she had grumbled about for weeks before) and she had promised to take the girls out later that evening instead. But it wasn't just good enough for the three of them to take advantage of the White House's theatre, or private cook, or any of its other amenities, no. Claudia wanted to bring them out to a popular restaurant and bowling alley in Georgetown for pizza... and told the girls that's where she was taking them — multiple floors, bad traffic, open bocce lanes and potentially crowded bowling lanes – before Myka had a chance to say it was too risky.

So Pete went with the advance team to check for any potential threats and to work with management to limit the number of people inside, and Myka, Claudia, and Steve followed with the two younger girls.

Myka actually ended up having a lot more fun than she anticipated. Claudia insisted that the six of them sit together, that the other agents could do most of the protecting because she wanted to get to know Pete and Myka better, and Myka found Claudia to be a great conversationalist.

Soon, though, Cara got impatient and wanted to play, and Caitlin saw a schoolmate she wanted to talk to, and somehow Myka was left alone at the table with Claudia. "I just want them to still have a normal childhood," Claudia confessed. "I didn't. It was all primaries and campaigns and bus travel for _years_ before he was ever actually running for president. I was an extra from the start. But them, I don't want them to feel that way."

Myka didn't know what to say, but she felt a hurt deep inside when she realized that they probably only saw their parents for a few minutes a day (their mom taking on a very active role in the administration) and they were starting to be shown off to the press nearly as often as Claudia was.

She didn't have a chance to respond as Steve came and sat back down at the table, interrupting her thoughts. She glanced quickly around, finding Pete now teaching the two younger girls how to throw a better skee ball. "I don't know how you do it," he said smoothly as he sat back next to Claudia. "It takes a _lot_ of energy to keep up with those two."

Myka smirked. "It takes a lot of energy to keep up with Pete. But the college life can't be easy."

Claudia laughed bitterly. "It's not like I go to a lot of parties. Can you imagine? Presidential wild child caught doing keg stand!"

"It's more likely that you'll be caught hacking into law enforcement databases. How would you explain that?"

Myka smiled at Steve, but paused at their exchanged look. "Wait, you can do that? He's not joking?"

"I just wanted to make sure that the munchkins got the very best protective details, so I may have done some research and... orchestrated a plan to get you and Pete reassigned."

Myka opened her mouth as if to speak but no words came out.

"Don't worry," Steve said. "I was originally ATF on assignment with the Secret Service, but once Claudia met me and we clicked, the reassignment came so fast that no one knew what to do with me. I was the youngest agent to ever lead the protective detail on one of the first family."

"Second family," Claudia joked. "That's how it works, right? Like the second cousins no one wants to talk about?"

"I think the Vice President would have something to say about that," Steve bantered back.

"First family, once removed," Claudia countered, and Myka smiled at their easy relationship. She had gotten close to Caitlin since she started, but it was refreshing to see the adult friendship that they had.

Steve and Claudia changed topics to something that she couldn't quite follow, and she excused herself to go check on the girls and Pete.

Myka strolled up to her charge just as Cara was urgently dragging Pete away somewhere else; getting tired with the arcade game she was too young to play well. She was focused on Caitlin, though, and smiled as the twelve year old's arms circled her waist. "Myka!" she cried, elated, and Myka's left hand rubbed her back. "Ms. Lake is showing us how the shooting game is rigged, and how to beat it!"

Myka finally truly examined the other two standing there, and placed the other girl as Adelaide, the only other student from Caitlin's class to join the school that year... though she was certain her last name wasn't Lake. Still, it wasn't uncommon for children to have a different surname than one of their parents. Myka scanned through Adelaide's file in her head, but came up empty on the mystery woman. Yet, Myka took a chance, knowing that a wrong guess would often lead more quickly to a correct answer than a direct question, so Myka directed her query at the girl. "And does your mom always teach you how to cheat at games?"

"Step-mom," the girl answered immediately, and Myka couldn't help but be pleased her ploy worked, until Adelaide's face fell. "Well, ex-step-mom, I guess."

"I only teach her how to beat the people already cheating, and how to find the weak spot in the structure," the woman in question replied, and Myka's attention was drawn to the accent that curved around her words. "Emily Lake," she stated as she put out her hand, raising her eyebrows, and clearly asking the same of her.

"Agent Myka Bering," she replied with a firm handshake, and couldn't ignore how she was pulled into her smile.

"Ah," she replied with a flourish. "So you're the knight in shining armor who's going to keep young Caitlin safe from bandits, hooligans, ruffians, and even most-dangerous –" she leaned into Myka and Caitlin and said with a conspiratorial whisper, " _reporters._ "

Caitlin and Adelaide couldn't help but giggle, but it wasn't until Emily's eyes met hers hopefully that she allowed herself to smile. "I think every child deserves a knight," escaped before Myka could think to hold the words back, and she wondered how her voice had taken on such a light tone.

Emily hummed and then paused, waiting the half-second for the girls to focus back on the game, and then quite obviously gave Myka a once over. "I can't help but want one as well."

Myka felt a blush crawling up her neck. She was taken aback by how brazenly the woman was flirting with her. Sure, most times when she was in something other than her standard black suit with her badge prominently displayed and someone realized she was Secret Service she got curious looks and questions, but it was usually from gun-nuts, or reporters, or lobbyists hoping that a forced relationship could grant them access in the future. Never had it been from someone so... _charming_.

It was with the acknowledgement of that word that she took a step back, realizing that it had been a full thirty seconds since she had looked at anyone other than Emily, and resumed scanning the room. She was a _professional_. A professional who had let herself get distracted.

When she looked back at Ms. Lake (Emily, a voice protested), she could see that her change in demeanour had been noticed. When before Emily had been... flirty (and yes, the voice supplied again, she _had_ been flirting), her eyes were now downcast. "Well, Adelaide," she said, her voice more solemn. "It's about time I should be returning you to your father."

Adelaide pouted, and Myka couldn't stop herself from asking Emily, "Do you still get to see her often?"

It was with a tight-lipped smile that she answered, "Not as often as I would like."

They gathered their things and went to cash in their tickets, leaving a quiet Caitlin in their wake. "She doesn't treat me differently, you know, because of my dad," she whispered to Myka when she knew that they were gone, and Myka could see how affected she was. A moment later, though, she perked up. "Do you think we can invite Adelaide and Ms. Lake over? That... that if we start the paperwork now, it might be soon?"

Sometimes it struck Myka how challenging life must be for the slight pre-teen before her that even inviting a friend over to play would require background checks and an escort, but even with Caitlin's shy manner, it always pleased Myka to see her making the effort to make friends. "I'll start on it right away," she answered, and was rewarded with another of Caitlin's giant grins.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to typey for taking me on google maps walking tours of DC so I could accurately describe Emily's house and other areas, and telling me where DC kids would go on field trips. Reminder: I actually know nothing of Secret Service protocol and have taken pretty much everything from a strange combination of TV shows and movies, and then made up the rest.

 

Myka stared at the forms in front of her. It was nearing dinner, but she still had so much work to do. Her predecessor had been less than thorough on the background checks for each of Caitlin's classmates, instead basing his work on the checks previously done for the son of a senator – which had far less detail. Myka had been updating the files since she started, and she was still finding errors from his negligence.

_And_ they were supposed to be going on a class trip to Gettysburg tomorrow, something that Caitlin had been excited about for weeks.

Myka sighed. She really didn't want to have to pull Caitlin from the experience, not when some of her classmates were _finally_ starting to accept her. She had already arranged for a bus and a driver from their fleet, as well as the additional security that would be blending in while _on_ the field trip, but the problem was...

Well, the problem was that all of her time had been spent doing other logistics, and there hadn't been enough work done on the parent chaperones. Caitlin's teacher kept asking if she could change the list, and one chaperone in particular was causing her problems, and had been for the past ten days, ever since Caitlin asked about her.

Emily Lake barely existed.

Myka had managed the paperwork and checks on Adelaide and her father to allow them to come to the East Wing in record time, and Nate's house satisfied everything they needed to allow Caitlin to visit, but her step-mom? ( ** _ex-_** step-mom, that voice in her head readily supplied.)

And even then, there was no evidence to show that Emily and Nate had ever actually been married.

Basically, Myka had an address in Boone, Wisconsin, from which the three of them moved to DC last year, and she had an address in Cheyenne, Wyoming, where Emily worked as a high school English teacher before she became a forensic technician. It was a strange progression of events. Even weirder, her history before that was so plain that Myka guessed it to be made up.

Myka shifted in her seat. She had put out feelers to some of her contacts in the Marshals Service, but they were notoriously tight lipped about their charges. Emily hadn't _seemed_ dangerous, and even Pete said that he wasn't getting a bad vibe off of her.

Before she could talk herself out of it, Myka gathered her file and keys, and double checked Emily's address. She had already enlisted Pete to accompany them for the field trip, and if this conversation didn't work out, she would simply ask that Emily not join them. They could work out the details after.

 

* * *

 

Myka stepped out of the car but stayed in the shadows, taking in the street in front of her. The row of townhouses was well kept and neat. Some had little flower gardens in front of their windows, and the small squares of grass in front were already lush, despite it still being early in the season. The steps up to each door looked like pleasant places to sit and people watch or read in the evening.

It also looked exactly like the type of place that Myka would like to live, if she had the money. (Which was another question to add onto her growing list – how did a technician afford a house like this?)

Before she even had a chance to cross the street, Emily's door opened, and it appeared like she was going to do exactly what Myka had just envisioned, though her plans apparently also involved a bottle of beer. Just before Emily sat down, though, it seemed as though she froze, scanning the streets around her as Myka herself was so prone to do.

Myka watched as Emily's hands shifted almost imperceptibly, and anyone else might have missed the way that the neck of the bottle was now clutched from above, making the bottle into more of a weapon.

Who _was_ this woman?

Myka finally stepped into the light and Emily visibly relaxed. "Agent Bering," she called out as Myka crossed into her yard. "I've been expecting you."

"You have?"

"Once we met, I knew you wouldn't be able to resist." Myka balked at Emily's flirty tone, but laughed when she it changed to an overly innocent one. "With keeping young Donovan safe, of course! Come, are you done for the day? Let's get you a drink."

Myka had no other choice but to follow Emily inside, past the stairs and a modest living room to the kitchen in the back. "I apologize for the clutter," Emily continued, pulling another beer out of the fridge, and perching on a bar chair at the edge of the attached island, gesturing for Myka to do the same, and then at the boxes around her. "Moving has proven to be a long and arduous process."

"So, your break-up with Adelaide's father is recent?"

Emily pursed her lips. "It has been over for some time, though we pretended for Adelaide's sake, likely for longer than we should have. I've had this house since Christmas, though it's only now starting to feel like any semblance of a home." Myka waited for her to continue, watching as Emily's fingers ran through her hair and it fell neatly back into the same place. "That is why you're here, isn't it? To make sure that Caitlin will be safe in my presence?"

Myka thought carefully before answering, cursing that she went to see Emily so impulsively and without a plan. Did she dare tell her that she found the results of her background check suspicious? And that while she would normally just reject Emily's clearances without much thought, she found herself wanting to give the woman the benefit of the doubt?

She settled on a half truth. "I didn't have time to do a thorough investigation before the field trip tomorrow, and your details are... sparse."

Emily almost smiled at that, but her voice remained dry. "Did I manage to bury my secret deep enough that you didn't find it, Agent Bering? It's nice to know that I still have a few tricks."

Myka swallowed heavily. "Ms. Lake, if you have something to hide, I need to know about it. I _will_ find it, and it will be better if you tell me now."

Emily did smile this time, but it was sad. "If I'm going to sharing my dark secrets, I think you can at least call me by my first name." She paused as if waiting for Myka to respond, but Myka knew that the best way to get information was often to just stay silent. Emily sighed, and then continued. "Six years ago I woke in a London hospital after what they told me was a very serious automobile accident. I was lucky to be alive, they said, with the extensive head trauma I suffered, but alive I was."

"You didn't remember the accident?"

"Darling, I didn't remember _anything_."

"Amnesia," Myka responded, the word being pulled from her lips before she could even think about saying it. "And now?"

"I am, essentially, only six years old, still seeing the world through the eyes of a child."

Myka couldn't decide if it sounded like the plot of a bad Hallmark movie, or oddly romantic. What would it be like to see a sunset, or have a chance to redo her first kiss? What would it be like to discover her favourite book again for the first time? To fall in love with it all over again? To regain maybe even a little bit innocence lost? Myka could feel her thoughts begin to spiral out, so she reined herself back in. "And the move to America?"

Emily shrugged. "I had no family left — the only child of older parents who had already passed. Being around my former friends only reinforced how much I was missing. I found myself wishing that I could start over, start anew. I was a new person, so why would I try to hold on to the one that I couldn't remember?"

She then told the story of the insurance payout, and it allowing her to cut ties to the past she didn't know. She told of finding the job in Cheyenne as a teacher and jumping at the chance – during her recovery, apparently the main character traits that had stayed consistent were her insatiable curiosity and her love of literature. She told of learning that in her old life she had several science degrees, and so spent her spare time in Cheyenne relearning what she had forgotten, and then growing tired of the small minded views of some of the people in her state. She told of searching for other jobs she could use her once again relevant degrees for, and then of her move to Wisconsin, hoping to find something that would once again make her feel like she belonged in this world.

"And did you?" Myka finally asked, completely drawn into the way that Emily told of her past, as if it wasn't her life, but a story with an engaging character and an exciting storyline.

She finally gave a smile that Myka could describe as honest. "I found Adelaide."

Myka's beer had been long finished, and she played with the label, just for something to do with her hands. "And keeping your past a secret?" she finally asked, trying to get past not being able to find this information on her own.

Emily shrugged. "When people learn the truth, I know the look in their eyes — it's pity, and will _not_ be pitied, Agent Bering."

Without meaning to and without being able to stop it, Myka placed her hand over Emily's. "I don't pity you," she said with a squeeze. She almost said that the story made her admire Emily, that it showed strength and adaptability, but after a pause she instead settled on, "you can call me Myka."

When Emily looked up and into her eyes, Myka could feel the change in the moment. No longer was Emily looking at her as someone who was investigating her, as someone who was digging in her past. Her gaze instead held possibility, and understanding, and friendship, and maybe...

Myka unconsciously licked her lips, but as soon as Emily's eyes shifted to follow the movement, she jumped back and removed her hand in acute awareness of the story her body language was telling. "I should go," she said, shaking her head and zipping up her leather jacket, adding a protective layer between them. "Early morning, and the field trip..."

"Of course. Then... I'm still allowed to go?" Myka pursed her lips and then nodded shortly, and Emily gave a minor sigh of relief.   "Then I'll see you tomorrow," she said, and then after a moment of thought, "Myka."

When Myka finally made it to her car, she breathed in deeply and let it out slowly and evenly, before banging her head on the rest behind her. She couldn't allow herself to have a distraction, not on the job, not after what happened to —

She then said the name aloud and granted herself a moment let the memory rise up, to remind her of what had happened, of how her entire world had come crashing down around her when he misjudged the time they were planning their bust. It had been so long already, but she would never forget how broken she was afterward, how consumed by him she had become until she left Denver.

She wouldn't admit that the depth in Emily's eyes had the capacity to do the same thing.

 

* * *

 

The next morning she made several phone calls — to Pete, to fill him in, to the protective detail of the day, confirming the plans, and then after careful consideration, to a contact at Scotland Yard. She had used the no-nonsense Benedict Valda as a source for information on one of her first cases she worked on at the Secret Service, and he had become a valuable resource over the years.

The conversation was short — that she needed to corroborate a story about a collision from six years ago and the subsequent injuries of a woman named Emily Lake, and he promised he would look into it, and send her the file (if available) later.

With all that taken care of, Myka easily gathered Caitlin, exchanged pleasantries with Leena, and took an excited twelve years old to meet the rest of her class.

The children were showing up at the drop off point, and Myka spent much of the next few minutes directing everyone onto the bus, making sure the other agents were in position, and even though she was trying to deny it, keeping her eyes open for Emily and Adelaide.

They arrived just a few minutes before the bus was to depart, Myka noticing them before they saw her. Emily's eyes caught sight of Pete first, and after recognizing him from the restaurant, she approached. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but Myka could see the way that Pete straightened oddly, and then the small slump of Emily's shoulders before she boarded the bus.

"What was that about?" she asked Pete as they did their last check before boarding the bus themselves.

He shrugged. "I didn't say anything, I swear."

Myka nodded, but she understood. "But she could tell you knew." He had an odd look in his eye, though, one that had learned to interpret. "You got a vibe."

He nodded. "When I was talking to Emily. Not a bad one, just an odd one. I don't know what it means."

She studied him, but he didn't seem worried. If he _was_ worried, it was more likely only because he couldn't interpret what he what he was feeling. Satisfied, she gave one last look around, clocking the lead and following vehicles (even though they were trying to blend in) and nodded. "Ready, partner?"

"Ready."

 

* * *

 

The bus ride there was almost exactly as she expected it to be. Overexcited children, a quick briefing to the other parent chaperones about how this field trip would differ from others, what to do if they saw anything, and how to behave, and then she and Pete fielding dozens of questions from the students, parents, and teachers alike.

Except for Emily. Her focus strayed far more often out the tinted windows than to Myka, and she only seemed interested in anything when Adelaide wanted her attention. But Myka had little time to worry about that. The just-under-two hour bus ride was quickly ending, and she and Pete were going over logistics just one more time. She would have a chance to talk to Emily later.

 

* * *

 

Growing up in the Rockies, Myka's field trips were quite different. Sure, there were trips to museums and galleries, and being that close to Denver offered a wide variety of places they could go, but she never quite got the same sense of American history that she felt when she visited these national sites. When she first transferred to DC, even amongst the crazy hours she was working, she made the time to see the monuments and take the tours.

It gave her a deeper understanding of the things and people she was protecting.

But today, her mind was not on the wars waged and lives lost, or even the very person she was to be protecting. At least, not fully, because for every minute that she was scanning the other school groups, tour guides, and parents — all while keeping an eye on Caitlin — she spent equal focus tracking the location and movements of another.

Her dark eyes actually seemed interested as she read the plaques and listened to the tour guide, though Myka supposed that it might have been mostly new information for the British woman. The other parents were mostly talking with each other (and one in particular kept trying to catch Pete's eye), but Emily stood apart.

Finally, after getting each of her other agents to check in, she couldn't stand it any longer. "Are you ignoring me?" Myka asked quietly, coming to a stop just beside the infograph that Emily was studying.

"Of course not, Agent Bering," Emily replied, the very stereotype of having a stiff upper lip.

Myka couldn't help but feel hurt by this other woman that she barely knew, but she straightened and squared her shoulders. "I hope you enjoy the rest of your day, Ms. Lake."

She had just pushed off when she heard a quiet, "Wait." Myka stopped, but did not relax her body language. "I was... hurt that you told Agent Lattimer of our conversation. I thought I made my feelings on the situation quite clear."

Myka stepped closer and dropped her voice. "Emily, Pete is my _partner_ , and for better or worse, a child that you are a parent of seems to be the best friend of the first daughter. I won't tell Caitlin or volunteer it to anyone else in the first family if you don't want me to, but I've added it to your file." Emily looked up sharply when she said that, and Myka continued. "Yes, you have a file, but you don't have to worry, very few people have access to them. Your secret is safe."

Myka could practically feel the gears turning in Emily's head, though the mask that she wore didn't show any of the hidden emotions that she was probably cycling through. Finally, she appeared to settle on shame. "I apologize, Myka," she said, and Myka's stomach jumped with once again hearing her first name. "I only wish to keep this hidden as best I can. I did not mean to be rude, and I hope that you can forgive my childish behaviour, not only for Adelaide, but because I do find myself quite… _desiring_ your friendship."

The apology was over the top, and Myka could feel that the theatrics covered up Emily saying something else entirely, but Myka was now more concerned with trying to keep down the blush that she could feel beginning at her chest and working up her neck. She looked around quickly under the guise of checking in on Caitlin, and just as she started to panic that she didn't know where she had gotten to, she heard Pete's voice over her ear piece. "Scout is in the North East corner with Adelaide," he said, using Caitlin's new code name and getting the other agents to check in as if him dictating where Caitlin was a normal occurrence.

Myka breathed out slowly, and she saw Emily's eyebrow arch, clearly questioning her sudden change in demeanour, but Myka just shook her head. "It's time to go to the interpretive center. Let's go gather the troops."

 

* * *

 

A single phone call from her contact at Scotland Yard broke up the rest of the day. "Agent Bering," his gravelly voice said, and before she even had a chance to answer, he continued. "I found a digital reference to a report of a collision between a car and a transport truck with the parameters you described, though the hard copy was not properly filed. It happens more often than we care to admit, I'm afraid, that we get behind on digitizing the cases that don't go to court. Would you like me to try to track it down?"

"Thank you, Detective Inspector, but don't worry about it. Confirmation of existence is good enough for me," Myka said, cringing to herself that if it was about anyone else, she probably would have pushed harder for it.

"Well, if I have a chance, I'll request it anyway. A pleasure, as always."

By the time she had gathered everyone back onto the bus, she was growing tired. Luckily, so were most of the kids, and she could tell that many of them would be asleep in no time.

She checked in with Caitlin and Pete, and once the bus started moving, she was pleased to hear a quiet and distinctly British, "Agent Bering?" and then happy to see an empty seat next to the woman. "I felt it best to refer to you formally in front of the other parents," she admitted when Myka sat down, and she agreed, despite this strange friendship that was developing. "Now, Myka, it seems that I have you all to myself for the next two hours." She grinned. "Let's get to know _you._ "

Myka could again feel the blush start to rise. "Uh," she said with a bit of a nervous chuckle. "What would you like to know?"

Emily leaned in to her ear as if it was a secret, and Myka could feel her own breath catch when she whispered, " _everything."_

 

* * *

 

With traffic, the bus ride took two and a half hours to return, and it was nearing dinner by the time she was putting Caitlin in the car to go back to the East Wing. "It's been a pleasure," Emily had said to her as they were parting, and she stuck out her hand, still sticking to the formal script. Yet, when Myka shook, she could feel the way her thumb almost caressed the back of her hand, how her fingers seemed to ghost along the pulse point on the inside of her wrist, and she gulped.

"As always," she managed to reply, and she would have thought that she had succeeded in sounding normal if it wasn't for Emily's lightning quick glance at her lips that made her feel weak in the knees. But Emily had turned away, giving her full attention to Adelaide, and then left with the other girl.

Pete approached her and paused at the door of the car, giving her a searching stare. "Oh my god, you like her," he said with an excited grin.

Myka rolled her eyes and tried to reach the door herself, but Pete was now blocking the way. "Of course I like her; she's a very interesting person."

"Uh-huh," he replied. "Whadjya talk about for two-and-a-half hours?"

Myka tried to contain the smile that starting to grow on her lips. "Books, mostly. But also world events, and science and politics and how I ended up in the secret service and what Colorado and Wisconsin were like..."

He let out a low whistle, "no, Mykes, you _like_ like her, and you've got it _bad._ "

She clenched her jaw and tried to move past him again. "Peeeeeete," she said, hoping to tell him how close to the end of her patience she was, and he got the hint, throwing up his hands in mock surrender.

But as she was getting into the car, she still heard him say, "it's _okay_ to like her," in a soft tone that didn't carry further, and she hoped that she might be able to one day believe him.

 


	3. Chapter 3

On Saturday, Claudia told each of the girls to bring a friend along the following week. She wanted to meet their best friends, Claudia said, but she avoided Myka's gaze. Myka immediately turned to glare at both Pete and Steve, who looked away guiltily.

"Can I invite Adelaide?" Caitlin asked at once, as everyone knew she would, and the next line was expected too. "And Ms. Lake?"

"Don't you like Adelaide's father?" Myka asked the girl and she shrugged.

"He's okay, but he's kind of boring. Emily was a lunch volunteer last week, and she told us about science experiments she wanted to do with us!" Myka snorted in response, but she knew she had lost this battle... especially when Pete made sure that Claudia included a parent in each of the invitations she wrote out on official stationary and let each of the girls sign at the bottom.

But the Saturday they were supposed to all go run around in a park, Myka woke up to unexpected rainclouds threatening to burst at any moment, and she immediately reached for her phone. She phoned Claudia directly and was greeted with a mix of a whine and a grumble, none of which was at all coherent.

It took her a few tries to get Claudia to wake up enough to understand that there would be no outdoor activities that morning, but when she finally did Claudia already had her solution. "They've all been cleared, right? Just escort everyone to the East Wing. I've been meaning to say hi to Leena, anyway. We can watch a movie, or something."

With the exchange of a few more details, they hung up and Myka made all the required phone calls to arrange for the visitors, filling Pete in first. Once she was done with them, her thumb hesitated over Emily's name in her contacts. She hadn't ever had to actually call her before, and she was suddenly nervous.

"Don't be ridiculous," she murmured to herself, and pressed the call button.

"Hello?" Emily's voice answered, though slightly puzzled, and Myka realized that Emily didn't have _her_ number.

"Emily, hi. It's Agent Ber — It's Myka. It's Myka calling. How are you?"

"Better now that you called," she practically purred, and Myka had no idea how she could make such simple words seem so enticing, though a second later Emily's voice had turned practical. "I was actually quite worried that we would have to go wait or play in the rain. I suppose the gathering is cancelled?"

"Actually, just moved, if you're interested in visiting the White House." There was silence on the line, and Myka finally had to prompt, "Emily?"

There was another moment of silence before her voice was heard again. "I suppose if our security checks have already gone through, there shouldn't be a problem." She said, short and clipped. "Where should we go?"

Myka was startled by the third change in Emily's tone in the short conversation; though she supposed that being invited to the White House would be stressful for anyone. "I'll have a car sent, in about ninety minutes?" It was silent again, and Myka was sure it was just a case of the nerves. "It's okay, Emily, there's no pressure and no expectations. The First Lady is out of town this weekend, and the President's already in his office and not expected to return until _long_ after you'll be gone. Just, dress normal and act normal. It's just another day."

"Thank you, darling," Emily said, and she sounded much more relaxed. "Will — will you be there?"

With the change of venue to the East Wing, Myka was actually not needed and had planned to spend some time catching up on her own paperwork (or really, forcing Pete to catch up on his), but Emily's nervousness was endearing and she found herself wanting to be there for the other woman. "Of course I will," she responded. "I'll see you then."

 

* * *

 

When Pete heard Myka's plan, he wanted to come along too. "Have you seen the friend's mom? She's hot!" was his excuse, ("and single!" he added as an afterthought) but she had a sneaky suspicion that he wanted to play interference with the other visitors so she and Emily could spend more time together.

("Doesn't she hate you?" Myka had asked him, remembering Kelly's ire the last time he had hit on her.

"I'm growing on her," he replied cheerily, and Myka groaned at the fact that it was probably true.)

Myka quickly made her way to the East Wing to see if there were any last minute preparations, and she was greeted with Leena's friendly smile. They headed toward the kitchen, where the girls were. "I didn't know you were coming, Myka. I wasn't aware the children needed extra protection today."

"Well, new visitors, and, uh..." Myka trailed off when she felt Leena stop behind her. She turned toward her in the otherwise empty hallway, and saw Leena squint her eyes, focused just slightly out of phase with where Myka was standing.

When Leena replied, it was with a breathy, "oh," and her smile became far too knowledgeable for Myka's liking... though it was something she had gotten used to very early in their friendship.

"She's interesting," Myka finally admitted, while Leena's eyes still skirted around Myka's edges, and if she was surprised by the pronoun, there was no indication. "She keeps me on my toes, but..."

Leena simply nodded. "But it's complicated." Her eyes refocused back to the normal spectrum. "Isn't it always?" Myka exhaled through her nose, trying to re-center herself, but Leena continued. "But there's something else."

Myka nodded. It was only when Leena prompted her that she was able to really focus on what it was that was bothering her. "I've had only one mature relationship in my life," she finally admitted. "Not that I haven't..." she waved her hand, continuing. "I don't know how to do this: flirt, date, express interest. And I don't know how to navigate —"

Myka had never been good at expressing any type of feelings, but Leena understood. "There is no rule book, Myka, no matter who you like or choose to pursue. There is no typical relationship. Trust your instincts. Just make sure she knows that you're interested."

Myka nodded, and then they continued to walk silently to the kitchen. "I still wish there was a manual," Myka grumbled, before going through the door.

Leena just laughed.

 

* * *

 

Adelaide had been to the East Wing before, and had already won over the agent who was letting them in. Emily, on the other hand, while normally oozing charm, was a stiff replica of herself. Still, Myka was pleased to see that when Emily caught sight of her, she seemed to relax an infinitesimal amount.

While Emily normally wore subdued colours in mostly earth tones, today she was positively bleak. Her tall, heeled, buckled boots were replaced with plain black shoes, and her normally free hair was pulled back into a low ponytail. "I thought I said you could act normally?" Myka said softly to her, while Adelaide was asking the guard questions about her visitor badge.

"I know, darling," Emily said with a strained smile, and though Myka was expecting something more, Emily stayed silent.

Myka examined her as Emily tried to look busy with Adelaide, but the mask that Emily was wearing was on too tightly. "There's something else going on," she finally concluded, still in the same, soft voice. "These aren't the normal nerves about being in the White House; you're genuinely scared about something. Emily —"

_"Please,"_ she murmured back as Adelaide started paying attention again, and Myka knew that the conversation was over. For now, at least, because Adelaide was tugging at Emily's hand and giving an annoyed look to Myka, and so she escorted them to where the Donovan girls were waiting.

It was some time before they were able to talk again. Cara's friend, Gabby, and her mom had shown up shortly after Emily did, and Claudia was determined that the ten people lounging around the room used as a play area were thoroughly entertained. It wasn't until after multiple card and board games that Claudia suggested making cookies and everyone started towards the kitchen that Myka was able to create a moment alone.

"Myka, please," Emily said as soon as she was held back. "Everything is fine; there is nothing to worry about."

Myka studied her carefully, noticing the now much more relaxed posture and the spark that had earlier been missing from her eyes. "Okay," she finally allowed. "Let's go meet up with everyone else before Pete pisses off any more of the household staff."

They made their way back to the kitchen and found it already in shambles, with flour everywhere and Pete and Kelly arguing about how to crack an _egg_ of all things, and all the younger girls were already snacking on the chocolate bits supposed to go _into_ the batter.

But the surprise of the mess was quickly overshadowed by the sudden squeal of "DADDY!" from Cara, and then her bounding across the room to greet her father.

Leena made a lurch towards her but none of them were in the position to grab the excited child, and when the President finally looked away from the folder in his hand, he found himself covered in sticky batter. Myka knew Pete would later joke that she was expected to take a bullet for the president but couldn't get in the way of an eight year old girl, but at that moment the atmosphere was tense. He surveyed the room quickly before Leena and Myka sprung into action (Leena, because she was the nanny; Myka, because she was still clean), and pulled her away, handing him a towel.

His mouth was tight as he tried to smile to Cara, but Myka could see that she was upset from his less-than-excited reaction to seeing her. Leena smoothed Cara's hair back, picking bits of batter from it, as she apologized. "I'm sorry, sir, I'll call someone to get you a new suit jacket. And tie. And —"

He put up his hand, silencing Leena immediately. It appeared that he only then noticed that other people in the room, and his demeanour changed. "Right, the kids were having friends over today. That's why Mrs. Frederic suggested that I check in on them."

Myka could tell that he was still distracted, (and could rightfully read 'suggested' as 'demanded') but she barely had time to focus on that – instead she was watching Caitlin's dejected look at being ignored, and then carefully hopeful look as her father's gaze swept the room. And then, Emily's poised stance – one that she would recognize in anyone as someone that was trying just a little too hard to blend in.

But Cara, despite her earlier brush off, immediately flipped the switch back to excited. "This is Gabby, and her mom Miss Hernandez. She's a veterinarian."

President Donovan greeted them kindly, if inattentively, and then motioned for Caitlin to do the same. "This is my best friend, Adelaide, and her..."

Caitlin trailed off and Adelaide took over, with a decisive, "parent."

His eyes trailed over to the one person in the room he didn't yet know, and she responded warmly with, "Ms. Emily Lake. I work in forensics. Nice to meet you, sir."

They shook hands, and while it was clear that the President had already gone on to other things in his head, Myka could see some subtle changes in Emily. Her lilt was a little less pronounced and her 'r's were a little sharper. When he turned away from her, she took a breath almost like she was preparing to sigh in relief, but just let it out slow instead. And when he said that he had someone waiting for him in the Oval Office and excused himself to change, she looked relieved.

But Myka didn't draw attention to it then, because as Leena and Pete were tending to a slightly still upset Cara, she went over to Caitlin, hoping to cheer her up. "Let's get these cookies in the oven. What do you want to do after we're done cleaning up?"

Caitlin shrugged, but Adelaide seemed to be a good judge of the mood of her friend and jumped in. "Well, we have final exams for the first time this year, and I brought my books. We're going to quiz each other!" She looked excited, and Myka remembered being similar at that age.

"Good," she said, wiping a bit of batter from near Caitlin's hairline, and the girl finally smiled. Adelaide was good for Caitlin's serious nature. "Then let's finish up these up before Pete eats all the cookie dough."

 

* * *

 

An hour later had Pete, Kelly, and the younger girls watching a movie in the theatre while Adelaide and Caitlin worked in her room, and the four remaining women sat back in the room they started in. Leena and Claudia chatted comfortably about the younger girls, and Myka sometimes had to remind herself that Claudia and Leena actually saw each other quite a bit, that until Claudia started college just before the election, Leena had technically looked after her, too. At least, during the summers and breaks that Claudia had been away from school.

Emily had been quiet, and while Myka had first assumed that it had to do with her mysterious discomfort, Claudia was the one to clue in that it was actually something different. "You can ask, you know," Claudia said to Emily. "You wanted to know if he's always like that. If the girls ever actually get to see their family."

Emily looked towards a window and a hand crept up to her neck, clutching a locket that was normally kept hidden beneath her clothes. "It is hard to watch anyone be dismissive of their own child, especially when..."

She trailed off. Claudia raised her eyebrows at the way it seemed that Emily had forgotten the rest of them was there, so Myka placed her hand gently on top of Emily's and guessed, "Especially when you have to fight so hard to see Adelaide?"

Emily gave a noncommittal, "Hmm," but then swallowed, and appeared to be back in the present, though she didn't elaborate further.

Claudia answered her own question. "They're not bad people — I lost everything and they took me in, made sure I was cared for. But the job comes first. My aunt and uncle have their priorities, and parenting is not one of them right now. And I think the kids got used to all the attention, before, during the primaries and campaign, getting dressed up all the time and having a doting father for the cameras, but that's not really who he is."

Emily appeared to be very interested now, and with Claudia was opening up, Myka wanted it to continue. "Is that why you make sure to see them so often?"

Claudia shrugged. "I went from a world of anonymity to being the poor kid that the rising star of the party 'saved.' I mean, he was just a Senator at that point, but he was already helping out with the primaries and was one of the keynotes of the convention that year… and I was no way ready to be thrust in front of the cameras like that, especially after what happened to my folks. I just..."

This time it was Claudia who trailed off. With a similar soft touch, Leena brought her back to the conversation, and Claudia continued. "I want them to have a normal childhood. I was handed to the press, and neglected at my new home. But those girls? Cara's still young enough, but I'm already seeing what it's doing to Caitlin. I just don't want them to feel the way I did."

Myka looked back at Emily, trying to interpret her reactions. She still looked a little sad, but the more prevalent emotion seemed to be... understanding? Emily continued. "And yet, here you are, still in the spotlight."

Claudia shrugged. "I was in a really bad place, and all the press about my depression and mental illness really sucked, so I got them to send me to boarding school. And I came out the other side, starting to find my place. Not that I still don't have issues and have to deal with the press, but..."

For whatever reason, Emily then looked slightly relieved, and Myka couldn't make any sense of her reactions to Claudia's story. What possible memory could this be bringing up, when she had so few of them already?

Just for something to do Myka looked at her watch, and was surprised at the time – Claudia was supposed to be returning to campus soon. "But now you have us," she with a smile, knowing that Claudia got the message and understood that she wasn't just a protectee, there was something more to all their connections, too. "Speaking of which, I know Steve has the night off, but I promised him I've have you back to your other agent in time for your study group."

Emily was pulled out of her haze. "Yes, I should be returning Adelaide to her father soon, as well." She had spoken with a harsh tone, but softened as they all stood up, and she put her hand on Claudia's shoulder. "Thank you for sharing that with us; it must not have been easy. And I promise: I'll do my best with your cousin whenever I have the opportunity."

Claudia just gave her a grateful smile before going to say goodbye to the girls, with Leena following to help Adelaide gather her stuff. Myka and Emily were standing alone, then, in a comfortable silence. "Thank you for today, Myka. It was lovely."

"I'd still like to talk to you alone."

The afternoon had been quiet and contemplative, but with a quick turn of Emily's lips, she started to morph into the Emily that Myka normally saw: quick, confident, and... flirty. "Or, we could _not_ talk."

Myka responded the only way she knew how: with a smile and a shake of her head. She grabbed for her phone to arrange for Emily's ride home, but she stopped when she felt a hand on her arm, and was surprised to see the intensity in Emily's eyes. "Come over tonight," she said, and Myka's hand froze over her Blackberry's keyboard.

"Come over. We'll have dinner, or drinks. We can talk, or read, or sit in silence if you like, but..." Her gaze strayed to the door, beyond it where Adelaide was surely getting ready to go to her father's. "I believe I don't want to be alone, tonight. "

Myka responded before she even knew she had an answer. "I'll be over at eight."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thank you to typey for taking me on google walking tours of DC and educating me on driving times and city by-laws. :)

It was seven when she called Pete, panicking. "What are the parameters of this evening?" she said to him, the second she heard his voice. "Is it a date? Friends? What do I wear? What do I bring? I need details, Pete. I need a plan."

"I dunno, Mykes," he said, and she could picture him running his hands over his face. "Look, she said she wanted company. Maybe that's it. What would you bring if you were coming over to my place?"

"Disinfectant."

"Ha ha. You'd come over wearing your comfy jeans or yoga pants and softest flannel, and you'd bring over a bunch of snacks that you'd say were all for me because you don't eat sugar, but you'd end up eating all the Twizzlers. Am I right?"

She groaned. "Peeeeeeete, but you're you. And I don't like you —"

"Hey!"

This time she growled. "You know what I mean, Pete."

"At least you're admitting it now." She waited for him to continue. "Look, substitute a bottle of wine for the candy, and you're fine. Just be yourself. And if the way that she flirts with you is any indication, she likes you too." He paused and she thought it over. "And hey, when you need a ride home in the morning —"

She hung up before he could finish.

Yet, an hour later she was in front of Emily's door in a pair of comfortable-but-still-fitted jeans and a soft cotton button down, and holding a bottle of red wine. She still didn't know whether to thank Pete or punch him.

Despite all of Myka's hesitations, it only took a minute for her to get over all her initial awkwardness. As soon as Emily answered the door and grinned when she saw the bottle of wine, Myka knew that the evening would be fun, if not still a little ill-defined.

And it _was_ fun. Emily immediately grabbed her by the hand and pulled her inside to the kitchen, (after, of course, a moment of awkwardness where Myka asked if there was a safe place she could store her off-duty weapon so she didn't continue to have it holstered to her belt, and a moment of surprise when she found that Emily had already cleared a locking drawer for her) where there were two plates of pasta set out. "I'm a terrible cook," Emily confided to Myka in a conspiratorial whisper. "But even noodles and sauce out of a can is difficult to burn."

Myka found herself leaning in to answer. "Somehow, I'm sure I'd find a way to mess it up."

"Hmm, and I thought we were going to be a good match," Emily said with a flirty smile before leaning back out, and her smile took on an overly innocent air. "What about your dear Agent Lattimer, can _he_ cook?"

Myka made a scandalized sound and then they both laughed and continued on, their conversation coming easy as they talked more about literature and Washington and Myka found Emily to be a delightfully interesting, even letting her guide the conversation to subjects that Myka knew little about, just to hear her talk. A second bottle of wine was opened and they eventually moved to the living room.

While Emily sat comfortably on the couch, Myka took the opportunity to look at the display of newly unpacked books around her. She could feel Emily's eyes on her as she let her fingers brush over the spines of some of the older volumes, and the way her eyes followed her was making her mouth dry and palms feel sweaty.

"You are a very beautiful woman," Emily finally said, even though the silence was not at all uncomfortable.

Myka turned toward her, taking in the image of her taking a long sip from her glass, yet never averting her eyes. "You're only saying that because of the wine."

"We've only each had four glasses, darling. Over what? Three and a half hours? That's hardly enough to become loose-lipped," she responded, but when Myka raised an eyebrow, she inclined her head as if conceding the point. "It doesn't change the truth. I find myself thinking of you in my quieter moments, simply wondering, if you might be thinking of me too."

"Emily..." Myka started, but she forced herself to stop. While she did have a high tolerance for alcohol, she was only one glass away from feeling positively giddy. Even then, she was feeling a little unguarded and struggled to hold in her words in fear of what she might say. She didn't know if she wanted to continue, to tell Emily that she was fascinated by her, that she _did_ think of her, but she was...

Myka was _scared_. It wasn't just because it was uncharted territory and that her last romance ended in tragedy, but also because there was still an insistent voice inside her that was telling her that there was much more to Emily than Myka knew.

Pete once described it as paralysis by analysis. She hated the term, but it was true, at least when she was apart from Emily. When Emily was right in front of her, though...

"I suppose it was a bit much to ask," Emily continued before Myka could arrange her thoughts, and her voice still held the lower timbre. "That a woman like you might find a simple lab technician worthy of your time."

Myka barely had time to react to the disdain at which she said _lab technician_ before Emily set her wine down beside Myka's own abandoned glass and carefully stood up, walking slowly toward where Myka was frozen in place. "And yet, I can't help notice the way the blush rises in your neck, the way your breath quickens when I come near, or the way your eyes tend to fall to my open collar, they same way mine linger at your lips."

Emily was standing before her, now, and Myka became hyper aware that everything she had just described was true. She could _feel_ the way the heat was rising upwards from her chest, the way her breath became shallower, and looking back, where her gaze had been falling all night.

"Emily," she wanted to say in protest, but instead it came out more as a breathy plea. She could _feel_ that she wanted this, she knew that she only had to complete the motion a few more inches toward her, and she again felt herself moving before she had consciously made the command —

— and then Myka's phone rang.

Her eyes closed and she growled in frustration, and when she opened them again, Emily was on the other side of the room. Myka was going to _kill_ whoever was on the line... until she saw the name on the screen. "Claudia?"

Emily's eyes perked up, and everything was silent for a few tense moments before a timid voice said, "Myka, I'm fine, but can you come and get me?"

Emily was already reaching for her cell phone when Myka mouthed _call a cab_ , and she immediately started thumbing through her apps. Whatever fog that had been previously clouding her mind was gone, and the sudden rush of adrenaline made her feel as clear-headed as ever. "Claudia, tell me what happened. Where are you? Do you have your panic button?"

"No, Myka, I'm sorry, it's not like that, I'm okay, I promise." She was silent for a moment and Myka exchanged a look with Emily, satisfied that a cab was already on its way.

_Pete?_ Emily mouthed, but Myka put up a finger for her to wait, though she then grabbed a pen to write down his number just in case.

For four tense seconds it was silent, but then Claudia started to talk again, seemingly all in one breath. "I snuck past my agents, and it was _stupid_ , I know, but there was this guy and I _really_ liked him but he's not here now and Steve's on a date and with all the talk today I just wanted a normal night but it's _really_ not turning out that way because I ended up at a party and I just want to leave but someone spilled all over me and I can't have anyone seeing me like this so _please_ can you come? I'm not even that far from my room, I just..."

Myka breathed out a sigh of relief, but she was already retrieving her weapon from the drawer. "I'll be there in less than ten. How do I find you?"

"I'm sending the GPS to your phone. Just, call when you get here."

With the plans in place, Myka was able to hang up the phone to see Emily's questioning eyes. "She's okay," she started, but didn't know how many details she should give, so instead she changed tactics. "Do you have a sweater or jacket we can borrow? She spilled something..."

Myka trailed off but Emily immediately brushed past her to the hall closet, and grabbed a zip-up sweater that had the crest of Catlin and Adelaide's school on it. "I know she's in good hands." Emily handed her the hoodie just as the cab stopped in front, and Myka felt Emily's hands linger on hers just longer than simply necessary, one of her fingers tracing the lines of the bones near the surface.

Myka's words were stuck in her throat. She wanted to say that she had a lovely time, that she was sorry that the night was cut short, but they wouldn't come, so instead, clear and determined, she leaned in.

The kiss was quick and hard, but it lasted long enough for Myka to find that her free hand had snaked up into Emily's hair, and for one of Emily's hands to find her hip.

When Myka pulled away, it was with wide eyes and a heavy breath, but she was happy to see the blush for once crawling up Emily's neck instead of just her own and her thoughts were almost derailed...

But Myka knew that if she stayed there for another moment she might never leave, so with one last brief smile, she went out the front door to the waiting cab. When she looked back as the car pulled away, Emily was still standing in the same spot.

 

* * *

 

She made it to Claudia's location even faster than she anticipated and took a moment to stand on the sidewalk after she sent the cab away to assess her surroundings. If Claudia's location was correct, then she was inside one of the townhouses that were used for campus housing just outside the main gate — one of the three on the corner that looked like they were having a large, multi-resident party. At each of the entrances there was a large bouncer type, checking for a wrist band of some sort that they seemed to have given out, and turning some people away.

So, it was invite-only, and everyone was dressed to impress. She wasn't getting invited in, and she wasn't about to make Claudia get out of wherever she was hiding without her protection. She dismissed the idea of forcing her way into the party and drawing unwanted attention, too, and the last thing she wanted to do was draw her gun.

She pulled out her phone. She had waited to pull Pete into this to protect him until she had a better understanding of the situation, but it was time. "I need all the information you have on the people who live at this address," she said as soon as he answered the phone. "I need it quickly, and I need you to not ask questions yet." He promised to call her back in two minutes.

While she waited, she studied the people going in and out of the parties. She definitely looked a lot older that most of the students entering, and she knew that with what she was wearing she wouldn't be getting an invite, but maybe she could still pass as someone who belonged in the area, instead of a dressed-down professional. She went through her options, and remembered that had slipped her contacts out before going to Emily's and had her larger pair of reading glasses in her bag. She unbuttoned the rest of her shirt to reveal the plain tank top underneath, rolled up her sleeves, and tied up her hair into a sloppy bun. She was happy now that she had decided on one of her longer button downs that evening, and now that it was untucked it concealed her side-arm that she tucked into the back of her jeans. (Even then, she cursed and not being able to use the holster on her belt, but it added too much bulk.) Checking her image in a reflection, she thought that she might now be able to pass for a grad student, at least.

Her phone rang, and she was impressed. It had only been ninety seconds. "The end residence," Pete said without preamble. "Devon Parkman. Arrested for drug possession with intent, never charged. Everyone else is clean, except there's had been some sort of unsanctioned modifications to all three properties that the university is unhappy with, but I don't have details."

As she looked at the patterns of people coming in and out, she figured that the modifications probably had something to do with the back of the houses, either extending the back landings or taking down fences so that the three units had easy access to each other, maybe even having entrances for illegally renovated basement apartments. She filed that away in case she needed an escape plan. But now, she had the basis of a plan to get in. "Thanks Pete, I owe you one." She could hear him start to respond, but she was already hanging up and moving towards the door that was the most sheltered from prying eyes.

She had never done well with undercover work — she was so much more comfortable with strict rules and processes – but before she went into the Secret Service she was pre-law, and before that she was pre-med, and she had seen what some of her classmates had turned to in order to keep studying through the night. It was easy to fake the slightly too-wide-eyed and somewhat twitchy demeanor when she walked to the door and asked for 'Dev.'

She had just watched the same bouncer turn away four other people, but he waved her through.

It took her about three minutes to find Claudia standing in the corner in one of the less populated rooms in the far house, pretending to drink from her red cup as her arms were crossed defensively in-front of her. A well muscled guy was talking _at_ her, clearly not picking up her signals. However, she was okay.

When Claudia caught sight of Myka, Myka could see her visibly ease. "Look, it was nice meeting you," Myka could hear her saying to the guy, "but my friend's here and we gotta go."

Claudia was already turning away, but Myka could see the warning signs and rushed across the room just as he grabbed her upper arm. "Fuckin' cock tease," he sneered, but that's all he got out before the hand previously on Claudia's arm was behind his back and he was pinned against the wall.

"Now, I can either let you go and you can enjoy the rest of the party," Myka said into his ear as he winced in pain, "or I can break your arm. Which is it going to be?"

He just made kind of a strangled sound, so she let him go, and he skulked away before the noise brought anyone else in to witness his defeat. "Good choice." She turned to Claudia. "You good?" She nodded, and so Myka handed her the sweater, which Claudia put on without question, pulling the large hood up and over her eyes, and then they slipped out a different door than the one Myka had come though.

When Myka had determined that they cleared the area, she found a bench in the open that was far from anyone or anything else, and sat her down. "Did that guy know who you are?"

Claudia shook her head. "I told him my name was Cassandra," she said, and Myka rolled her eyes at the obscure reference.

"Seriously though, are you okay?" Claudia nodded, so Myka continued in a low voice. "Then I need you to tell me _everything_ that happened."

So Claudia told her of how she was in the study group, and how one of the guys was really into computers like she was, and they've hung out a few times, but she doesn't feel comfortable bringing agents other than Steve around because...

"Because you guys do illegal things with your computers," Myka finished, briefly touching her fingers to the bridge of her nose, and then waving for her to continue.

Claudia explained that she had cloned her phone so the GPS said she was still in her room as to not alert the other agents. She said that Todd was a good guy, and that he wasn't really friends with the people that he roomed with, but he's known them forever, so he couldn't say no when the wanted him to move in with them. And that's how she ended up at the party... because she was just hanging out with Todd first, but he owed some of his roommates somehow, and so couldn't actually spend time with her once people started showing up. By the time that she realized she wanted to go, someone had spilled beer all over her, and she thought that she saw someone try to slip something into her drink. She had gotten rid of it, but she was then on high-alert. "That's why I called you. I didn't want to get Todd in trouble, but I didn't feel safe leaving on my own."

Claudia was near tears, and so Myka put her arm around her, and Claudia collapsed into the embrace. "You can always call me," Myka murmured into her hair. "But you know it was _really_ stupid to brush off your detail, right?" She could feel Claudia's nod. After a moment, she started again, speaking softly. "I have to report this. I don't want to, but you know I have to."

Claudia pulled back and Myka could see the look of despair on her face, but then the acceptance, too. "I know. This team is a bunch of idiots, anyway. None of them come close to you or Jinksy." She was silent for a moment, but then she smiled. "And when you pinned that guy? That was bad-ass."

Myka chuckled softly, happy to see that Claudia rebounded quickly. "C'mon, I'm going to have an uncomfortable conversation with Artie in the morning about why I didn't call in back-up, and we need to get you back to your dorm before your agents sound the alarm."

Claudia was silent for a moment and tugged at the hood of the sweater, bringing it back up around her face, and she touched the embroidered crest. Myka could see her struggling to put the pieces together, and while she wasn't going to help her along, a small part inside of her wanted someone else to _know_.

"You know," Claudia said slowly, now walking beside Myka back towards her dorm. "You got here really quickly, and you didn't come from work." Myka hummed her agreement. "And you live way further than ten minutes away, and you came with a school hoodie. What gives?"

"I was near Glover Park," Myka said casually, not knowing if Claudia had enough information to string the pieces together, but enjoying watching Claudia put her intellect to work.

Of course, Claudia might instead just pull out her phone and tap into Myka's, finding out where she had last been, and then check the residence against land titles. She still did make one observation, though, while she was waiting for her results to load. "Your teeth are stained; you were drinking red wine." Claudia sped up and then suddenly stopped in front of Myka, making her smile when she almost bumped into her.

Myka shrugged. "Noooo," Claudia whined. "I called you because Steve was out on a date, and I pulled you away from the same thing! Why didn't you tell me?"

"I need you to listen to me," Myka said seriously, putting her hands on Claudia's shoulders. "Your safety is the most important thing, okay? The safety of you, your cousins, and your aunt and uncle. And everything I do will make sure that they come first, okay? You can call me at _any_ time." Myka paused as Claudia nodded her head, and then Myka slung her arm around Claudia's shoulders as they started walking again. "And not just as an agent. You're my friend, too."

"I know," she replied, though Myka couldn't see her face under her hood, and it seemed that Claudia wanted eye contact as well, because she then pulled away. "So, it was a date?"

"I don't actually know. I think it was. I..." she stumbled over the words, but this was _Claudia_ , who was turning very quickly into a little sister she actually knew how to communicate with. "I kissed her just before I left."

"Kissed her," Claudia parroted, and Myka could see all the pieces of the puzzle that were rotating in her mind start to fall into place, that whatever she, Pete, and Steve had been conspiring toward to get Adelaide and a guardian to the White House were not in vain – but then her phone beeped with the confirmation she had been waiting for. With little more than a quick glance, she let out a sort of squeal that turned into a joyous laugh. "Are you dating Emily Lake?"

Myka couldn't contain her smile or the blush that had already risen to her cheeks, and when she looked back, Claudia had her arms raised in celebration, with an ecstatic smile on her face.


	5. Chapter 5

Myka could see that Artie was not happy to be brought in on a Sunday morning, and the matter of the meeting made him even more irate. "So walk me through this again. Claudia cloned her own phone, disabled her own GPS, snuck past her security detail to go see a boy, and then a party broke out around her."

Artie was dressed casually and was pacing the room, but Myka had dressed up for the reprimand and was standing stiffly. Her dark grey slacks and vest, with a crisp blue shirt underneath shielded her, made her feel like she was more in control, like she was the upstanding secret service agent she believed herself to be – even if she seemed to be breaking the mould recently. "Yes, sir."

"And when she realized that she wanted to leave but didn't have an exit, she called – not her lead agent, or any of the members of the team who were assigned to her that night, she called her _cousin's_ lead agent."

"Yes, sir."

"And even though she didn't know it, you were..." he trailed off as he realized he didn't actually know all the details of this part, and Myka was pleased (though surprised) to see that he waved his hand and deemed those details unimportant. "In the area, and responded in less time than her actual agents would have."

Myka was prepared for anger and disappointment, but none of his anger seemed to be aimed at her. "Artie, I went into an unknown situation without backup. It was irresponsible and dangerous. I should be suspended, or -- or put back on the outer perimeter!"

"Do you want to be put out there and taken off of Caitlin's detail?"

"Of course not."

Artie finally sat down in his chair. "Myka, you reacted admirably to the situation. You called your partner, and you got Claudia out safely without incident. And, you reported it. Some agents might have covered for each other, but you didn't."

Myka swallowed hard and looked down. While she once would have been proud of that remark, the praise now made her uncomfortable, and she wasn't completely sure why. When she looked back up, Artie was already engrossed in the folders in front of him, likely looking for a replacement team. "Go," he finally said when he noticed she was still there. "You're dismissed."

She was almost out the door when Artie called her back. "Myka?" She turned around to him, and he was staring contemplatively off into the distance. "The rules are there for a reason. Next time, call for backup."

And so she left Artie's office, still a little confused about what just happened, and needing to talk to Pete.

 

* * *

 

"You did _what?_ "

Pete actually put down the burger in front of him, while Myka picked at her salad. "Talked my way into a party and almost broke a jock's arm?"

His eyes were wide and she honestly didn't know if she was about to get a high five or yelled at. He did something in-between... which was after a moment, shrug, and then take a giant bite of his burger.

"Ou ood ah awwed ee."

She glared at him for speaking with his mouth full. "I know I could have called you. I'm still not sure why I didn't."

Pete swallowed, shrugged again, and then took another large bite.

Perhaps it was easier to talk to him when he wasn't answering back, but the fact that he kept his mouth full was actually comforting. "I've been feeling… different… lately," she confided softly. "I'm more... bold; I'm not checking SOPs in my head all the time, and I've made some decisions that aren't what's detailed in the manual. It's..." She trailed off.

Pete chewed slowly and finally gulped everything down when she didn't continue. "If it helps, I like this new side of you."

She felt her lips quirk reluctantly. "It scares me."

He grinned. "Scared is good! Besides, I'm with you like, all the time. I'm there to back you up. If you go over the edge, I'm going with you."

She was about to answer that it would make her feel better if he said he'd pull her back when her phone chirped at her, and Emily's name flashed above a new text message. _I assume from the lack of international fear-mongering this morning, the eldest Donovan child was valiantly rescued from her spilt beverage?_

She knew Pete was watching her but she couldn't help but smile at the message, her meticulous brain even noting that Emily managed to use exactly 140 characters. _Safe, but in trouble, and I'm working double duty this week... but I'd very much like to see you again._

She didn't have to wait very long until Emily had answered back. _We'll find a way, darling. I always manage to get what I want._

She could practically hear Emily's suggestive tone, and without even anything overt, she could already feel her blush start to rise again.

Pete cleared his throat and when she looked at him, he waggled his eyebrows.

She punched him on the shoulder.

 

* * *

 

It had been a week since she had seen Emily.

After the reassignment of Claudia's former detail, she and Pete were rotating through her protection as well as looking after their own regular charges until everything got worked out.

Caitlin was in the final weeks of school now, and every day she had a different place to be. There were her end of the year concerts and recitals, as well a bunch of final projects to finish and exams just around the corner.

While Myka loved the hustle and the business of her job usually, this week she would have rather had a quiet one where should could have left early, or had some time to spend with her thoughts.

Or perhaps, maybe the quick pace was actually good – less time for her to question her feelings, and less time for her to talk herself out of it. She and Emily had continued to exchange messages; a few times a day, nothing excessive or even suggestive, but instead just small notes with a funny quote or a quick turn of phrase.

And even though Caitlin and Adelaide had some group projects to finish, any meetings happened at the school, in the East Wing, or at Nate's. It was the following Saturday, when the weekly cousin gathering was winding up just after lunch, that Caitlin approached her and Leena. "I still have studying to do," Caitlin said, worry showing in her face. "I don't want to do badly on my first year of exams. Do you think Adelaide could come over to study?"

Before Myka could answer, Leena interjected. "Didn't you tell me that Adelaide was at Emily's this weekend? Why don't you see if you could go over there? I bet Ms. Lake would be happy to see you, and you haven't been there before, right?"

Caitlin nodded and happily bounded away to the nearest phone, and Myka turned to glare at the nanny and child coordinator. "Really?"

Leena smiled. "Pete may have mentioned that you two were working a lot and haven't had any personal time all week. I thought I might be of service." She looked around to see if there was anyone else listening, and then leaned into Myka to say, "I'm about to convince Cara that she really wants to play with Gabby today, too."

Myka rolled her eyes but smiled anyway, happy that she had someone like Leena watching her back, and was completely unsurprised to hear Caitlin a moment later confirming that they could go to the Lake residence.

It was a mere twenty minutes later that their driver was parking in front of the townhouse, and the two secondary agents of the day went to sweep the house while she waited with Caitlin. They came out a minute later and gave her the nod, and they climbed the steps. "Are they always so... _handsy_?" Emily muttered to Myka when they came in the door, Emily peeking through her own windows to watch the stationary vehicle.

Myka tried to hide her grin at Emily's words as the two younger girls met each other and immediately started talking about the science unit. Emily then spun to face Myka, and with a low voice continued, "and couldn't it have been _you_ checking closely for concealed weapons?"

Myka had barely been there for a minute, and Emily was already making her blush. She cleared her throat. "Okay, girls, where are you going to study?"

Adelaide answered. "We could go up to my room. I have a big desk and we could play music as we worked."

Emily nodded at them. "Just don't get too distracted by it. Close the door after you and we'll be up to check on you in a while with a snack." They were met with twin eye rolls, though the girls did go upstairs. Myka found herself left alone with the other woman, in much the same position they were when Myka kissed her last week.

Dueling thoughts presented themselves: had it already been a week? and, had it only been a week? Myka felt like it had been forever since they had spent any time together, and also that it couldn't possibly be that long, because she could recall in terrifying detail how Emily's hands had drawn themselves over hers as she handed her the sweatshirt, how soft her lips felt under her own, and how she had wanted nothing more than to stay there, and see how night would have progressed if she hadn't gotten the phone call.

It seemed Emily's thought were taking a similar route, because Myka noted the slight shallowing in Emily's breath, and her eyes, again, on Myka's lips. Myka cleared her throat to break the moment, and Emily shook her head as if to clear it. "Would you like a drink?" Emily asked, leading the way into the kitchen. "Beer? Wine?"

"Just water," Myka replied, and she had to laugh at Emily's face. "I'm here working, still." For reasons unknown to her, she continued talking. "We don't always even have an agent inside, but since I'm running this team I get to tell people where they should be, and I decided that we should probably have an agent with you until I know you better – or, I mean, until we, the secret service, know you better, and so I'm here. Working."

Emily sighed dramatically and after handing her a glass with filtered water from the refrigerator, sat down at the bar stool around the corner from her. "But if you're working while you're here, whatever will I find to do to keep myself occupied?" Emily's fingers brushed through her own hair and when she set her hands down, they played with Myka's.

Myka swallowed heavily, her eyes following the tips of Emily's fingers as they brushed over the tops her hands, skimming back up to trace designs on her forearms and trailing back down to entwine with her own. She could hear that Emily's breath had grown short, again, and Myka's eyes drifted to follow the edge of Emily's collar.

Did she always have that many buttons undone? Or did Emily dress this way on purpose, remembering where Myka's gaze tended to fall. "I said I couldn't drink," Myka started, and she finally tore her focus from the tendons in her neck to see Emily's eyes staring directly into her own, the intensity almost overwhelming. In a moment of clarity, she unclipped the holster holding her service weapon from her belt and set them safely on the table away from where stray hands might linger, and then her mind was clouded again. "I didn't say what else I couldn't do."

In unison, they both slid off their stools, not hesitating this time in coming together. Myka felt Emily's lips hot against her own, and she was moving without thought. Her hands reached up to Emily's silken hair, and Myka gasped when she felt Emily slide her own hands under her loose shirt, one clutching to her side and the other palming her back, pulling her closer.

Myka's senses were overwhelmed: the scratch from short nails, the soft bite at her bottom lip, and the sound of Emily's quiet moan as she returned the favour. There was only a moment of resistance as she tipped Emily's head back so that she could finally access that spot she had already memorized with her eyes and now learned every part of it with her lips and tongue and teeth. Not satisfied, she turned her attention to the details from her other senses: the taste of her skin, the lingering scent of Emily's bodywash that Myka had already identified as apples, and then, the sound of Emily's moan as she continued to nip and kiss.  

Time ceased to exist for Myka. Her normally meticulous brain was fixed in that moment, feeling, as Emily's fingers drew up her sides and then pulled her back for another kiss. Desperate for more, Myka dropped her hands from where they’d come to rest with black hair entwined through her fingers. Her hands at Emily's hips guided the shorter woman back onto the stool, allowing Myka to deepen the searing kiss and Emily to settle forward against Myka's thigh nestled between her own. Myka's focus narrowed sharply, registering only what was sparking in the minute spaces between their two bodies. Feeling her bra come loose and then Emily's hands exploring. Having her own hands run the lengths of Emily's thighs as she shifted in her seat, her weight distributed between the stool and Myka, and then Emily's mouth nipping at the tendon beneath her ear.

And then, her focus widened, disorienting her at the sound of a door opening, music becoming louder, and voices at the top of the stairs.

They both stiffened and then quickly pulled away, Myka already reaching behind her to reclasp her bra and then grab her service weapon, and Emily running her hands through her hair (though it hardly needed straightening) and taking a sip from Myka's abandoned water glass.

Her cheeks still felt warm and her breath was still short, but she hoped she looked as put together as Emily, who, by the time the girls entered the kitchen, looked almost normal.

Almost. Because the girls stopped suddenly when they came into view, their faces flickering between confusion and worry. "Were you two arguing?" Adelaide finally asked, when the silence went on for a moment too long.

Myka almost laughed, but she supposed that in actively trying to make themselves look less predatory, they had overcompensated and drifted into hostile. Still, it wasn't a bad cover. "Just a heated debate over a book we both read."

She wasn't entirely sure the girls bought her explanation, but they shrugged it off. "We had a question from our science unit," Caitlin responded, and Emily seized the opportunity to focus on the new topic.

"Let's have a look, then."

Adelaide put her textbook on the table and pointed towards a picture of someone cleaning a computer keyboard with compressed air. "This unit was on changing states of matter and how different materials react to temperature, but I don't get what pressure has to do with it."

Emily hummed. "The ideal gas law."

Myka raised an eyebrow, now (almost) entirely focused on the problem at hand. "Isn't this a little early for thermodynamics?"

Emily looked excited. "Perhaps for the math, but not for the practical application. I don't have a compressed air canister about but..." she smiled and turned suddenly, rummaging in both the pantry and then under the sink and coming back with two carbon dioxide fire extinguishers. "How about an experiment?"

They spent the rest of the day in the back yard testing what the cold gases of the fire extinguishers would do to different objects and the differences between brittle and malleable materials, having a blast but also learning, until it was time for Myka to bring Caitlin back to the residence for a rare family dinner. Myka had already called for the agent escort back to the car, and as the girls were hugging goodbye, Emily lowered her voice. "I – " she stumbled. "I never thought I would be conflicted that I have Adelaide for the entire weekend, and yet..."

Myka's throat felt thick and had just cleared it to answer when the agent appeared at the door, and she took a step back. "I'll text you," she finally said when Caitlin was ready to go, and she exited without waiting for a response.

When they got to the car, Myka once again chanced a look back at Emily's door, but this time she had already moved on to other things.

Myka wished she could do the same, because for the rest of the evening, Emily completely consumed her thoughts. She had poured herself a glass of wine and curled up on the couch to work through unsettling thoughts. If the girls hadn't come down just then, how far would she and Emily have gone? Had she actually been about to take Emily, right in the middle of her kitchen, with the girls upstairs and a car full of agents circling the neighbourhood? Had she been so thoroughly distracted that she had completely forgotten her job, that she had fully neglected her charge? She tried to tell herself that she would have stopped in time, that they would have cooled down before things had gone too far, but the way her body was responding to just the memory was telling her that she probably had no real chance of being able to stop, of being able to resist Emily at all.

She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she almost missed her phone ringing, but she snapped it up as soon as she saw the name on the screen. "Detective Inspector Valda, is it a very late night for you? Or an exceptionally early morning?"

"I fear that time loses meaning when you're wrapping up a case, Agent Bering." She laughed her agreement, knowing the feeling well. "I'm calling as a follow up to your question a few weeks ago. I requested the case file, and found that the reason it didn't go to court was that the transport truck had been stolen, and the driver never found."

"Is that odd?"

"Not particularly. There didn't seem to be very much of an investigation. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that it wasn't investigated thoroughly on purpose. It's just a hunch, but..."

Myka thought it over. "Can you send me what you do have?"

"I'll scan and send it once I'm back in the office. After I get some sleep, of course."

With that they said their goodnights, and Myka was left alone with her thoughts once again, though this time they had a slightly different weight to them. "What are you hiding, Emily Lake?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to note that this chapter had my favourite beta notes I've ever gotten, because I kept saying that Myka's fingers tangled in Emily's hair and typey took that word out EVERY time, like "her hair does NOT. TANGLE." :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note the change in rating. I think it's warranted. Probably.

Wednesday was the first day off that Myka and Pete had had in a long time, and she was desperate to have some time outside of their logistical check-ins about the girls to talk to him. She had missed him, had missed talking to him as a friend, and she needed some advice.

They returned to Pete's favourite greasy diner, and he behaved himself until the food came. She knew he had questions, and Myka wanted to talk, but she didn't know where to start. Things, and questions, were spinning but she hadn't figured out how to resolve them: she and Emily kept getting interrupted, and Myka still had no idea where they stood.

"So you haven't seen her alone at all?" Pete asked before she could really tell him anything, and his voice practically a whine. "That sucks. You have this totally hot kiss that you have to run away from, and then the next time you see her, you're working?" He made a face. "Myka needs some time to get her lady-lovin' on."

She waited for Pete to take another bite of his burger. "Well," she started tentatively. "We were left alone for a while when the girls were studying..."

She couldn't meet his eyes, but she could hear him slow his chewing, and then finally gulp it down. "Myka," he said slowly. "I know that we talked about liking the new you, and I fully support your relationship and everything else, but... while at _work?_ "

She still didn't meet his eye. "I know." She paused, grasping at straws. "But you _just_ bragged to me about spending the night at Kelly's on Saturday, after Cara went home and Gabby went to a sleepover with her cousins. Isn't that the same thing?" she asked feebly, even though she knew it wasn't.   "I mean, and we didn't — but..." she trailed off, not even knowing what argument she was making.

"You're the one who taught me not to mix work and play," Pete said softly. "I'm worried about you. I saw after Sam how hard it was for you to — "

She finally looked at him and spoke through a clenched jaw. "It's not the same, Pete."

He put his hands up in surrender. "Hey, I'm not saying that it is. I'm just saying, be careful. I trust you to protect Caitlin, and I trust you as _my_ partner. Just..."

She gave him a skeptical look as he trailed off. "Yes?"

"Just that Emily doesn't exactly get you to make decisions with your brain, if you know what I mean." He said it suggestively and waggled his eyebrows in his favourite expression. She rolled her eyes at him and the habitual response immediately relieved the tension. And Pete picked up his burger, sensing that it was safe to eat again.

The conversation turned back to him and Kelly, Myka peppering him with questions about how he finally managed to get her to like him, and teasing him about how, up to that point, Myka thought Kelly couldn't stand him. It was light, and fun, and exactly the type of distraction that Myka needed. She was even able to put Valda's comments out of her mind until they were leaving the restaurant and standing on the street.

"I think she's hiding something from me," Myka finally admitted, staring into the brightness of the sky while Pete fidgeted beside her. "About the accident. Or why she came here, or her past. I don't know what yet, but I'm — I'm missing something. And there was something weird about her when she visited the White House. I just can't put my finger on it, and I'm worried that our... whatever it is, is clouding my judgement."

"Then ask her about it." He shrugged. "It's really all you can do. That, or don't, and drive yourself nuts wondering."

Myka nodded, but knew there was a third way: she could investigate Emily more thoroughly on her own, but she didn't really want to go that route yet. Not until she had to.

Pete continued. "You said she's finishing up a case and is forced to take tomorrow off because of all the overtime, right? Well look at that, we have tomorrow off too! Go see her. Ask her." He smiled suggestively. "And then turn off your phone, because you already have a bad streak of getting interrupted, right?"

She glared at him, and then slugged him in the arm once just for good measure. She had to admit, though, it was pretty good advice.

 

* * *

 

It was just after eight that night that she found herself on Emily's doorstep, arriving without notice, the phone in its holster on Myka's belt already turned to silent. Myka had tried her at work and they had confirmed that she had left for the evening, and so she took a chance that Emily would be home. Myka had seen movement through the windows, and she summoned her courage and knocked.

It took a surprisingly long time for Emily to reach the door, and despite the still-warm air, she had a blanket wrapped around her over a set of leggings and an oversized t-shirt, as if she had already settled in for the night. "Myka," she breathed. "I'm sorry, did we make plans?"

Myka shook her head, startled at her appearance. "Are you okay?"

Emily looked away, and Myka could see there was a glassy sheen to her eyes, as if she was holding back tears. "Where are my manners?" Emily asked with a slight catch to her voice. "Please, come in."

Myka followed her inside, all the questions that she had come there to ask now forgotten. Emily led her directly back to the kitchen, (Myka taking a small detour to safely store her gun in the same drawer as last time) where she busied herself pulling the now whistling kettle off the element and making tea. It was only when she had placed a porcelain cup in front of Myka (who had instantly been flooded with memories of what happened the last time she had sat there in that kitchen) and held one carefully in her own hands that she seemed to relax even a little bit. "It has just been a troublesome few days, with the case I was working on. Nothing to worry about, just —"

"Emily, you can talk to me."

She stared into the depths of the teacup as if it held all the answers, and finally spoke. "I've sure you've seen it, in the news, the body of a child was found, as part of a hit-and-run. I was asked to come to the scene to collect evidence, and have spent much of the last few days processing it. It's been... taxing, to say the least."

Myka had seen a bit about it in the newspaper. "She was Cara's age."

"Yes, eight years old. It's always —" She cut herself off from whatever she was going to say, and the hurt look in Emily's eyes turned angry. "They caught the man who did it," she snapped, looking again into the tea that was still too hot to drink. "Thanks to some intuitive leaps I had in the lab and a few extra tests. But a prison term isn't going to be enough." And then her shoulders sagged as she continued, sounding helpless. "It's never enough."

"But you caught him," Myka said softly. "And he'll have to answer for what he did."

But whatever helplessness Emily had given into momentarily was now gone, and instead fury and pain rose up in her voice as she straightened up and loosened her grasp on the cup. "It was an accident, did you know that?" she asked, her words biting, as Myka shook her head. "This poor little girl, just at the wrong place at the wrong time, and a man who tried to run away from it instead of taking responsibility, instead of trying to help her and save her, he ran away—" Emily's voice had become loud and angry, and she began pacing. "Is this any world for a child to live? Where someone is more concerned about getting caught than trying to save a little girl's life? He didn't even call an ambulance, he just—"

Myka came around the side of the attached island that Emily had been pacing behind, guiding her into the corner as she talked, and she put her hands on Emily's arms, trying to calm her down. "Myka," she said angrily when she finally seemed to realize that she had been trapped. "Let me go. Let me go, Myka," she repeated, her voice cracking at the very end as she sounded more and more desperate, but Myka didn't release her arms. "Myka, this is not the time, you should let me go, you need to walk away Myka — I'm — you can't—"

Emily started to shake and Myka was sure that she wasn't just talking about the case anymore, but she didn't move away. Instead, facing all of Emily's pain and anger, Myka moved forward, wrapping her in a full body hug. She felt Emily resist, tense, and then finally, finally, give in.

Myka eventually relaxed her hold, and Emily buried her face in Myka's shoulder, leaving tear marks and snuffling with still trying to breathe, and Myka rubbed her back and caressed her hair and murmured that it was okay, that everything was going to be okay.

She didn't know how much time had passed when Emily finally took a deep breath, and was able to straighten up, standing almost flush with Myka's body, and looking straight into her eyes. "Myka, I—" she said softly but Myka cut her off.

"Shhh. You don't have to say anything."

"But I do, I—"

Myka had no coherent thought except that Emily shouldn't look so sad, so vulnerable, and she found herself leaning down to stop Emily's protests with a gentle kiss. It only lasted a second, and Myka pulled back to see Emily blinking furiously and her lips slightly parted, as if trying to understand what had just happened.

Her face was still flushed from crying but now her eyes were bright, and Myka brought a hand up to cup Emily's face, her thumb brushing away the last errant tear.

They stared at each other, both breathing shallowly, barely moving, Myka just waiting for something, anything that would tell her what to do, where they stood...

"Myka," Emily finally breathed, and when they came together again, there was no hesitancy.

Their lips crashed and Myka's hands lifted to the sides of Emily’s neck, hair sliding over fingers and wrists as Myka sought a way to keep them as close as possible, to keep the kiss as deep as she could. Vaguely, she heard a moan that could have come from either of them as Emily's hands reached around to the small of Myka's back, pulling her shirt out of her jeans, and then grabbing, clutching, scratching wherever she could reach.

And it wasn't enough. Myka wanted more.

Myka found herself lifting Emily again, this time onto the counter so Emily had to lean down toward Myka to continue their kiss. She neither noticed Emily making fast work of the buttons on Myka's shirt, nor her own impulse to pull Emily forward to the edge of the counter so her legs wrapped around Myka's hips. Myka barely registered that her hands now clutched at Emily's ass, practically able to feel everything through the thin material of the leggings, pulling, moving, grinding, gripping —

But Myka did feel the jolt of hot nerves when Emily's hands found her bare stomach and moved up along her sides and she arched into the touch when Emily's hands found her breasts over her bra. Myka gasped when thumbs grazed over her nipples, finally pulling away from the kiss to throw her head back even as Emily's teeth held onto her bottom lip for just a second longer, and Myka heard Emily grunt with frustration when her lips were out of her grasp.

Myka brought her head back forward and they stopped, then, breathing heavily, their foreheads pressed together, and Myka took inventory of the moment. Her shirt had been completely unbuttoned and her belt was undone. One of her hands were again threaded through Emily’s hair and the other was up her shirt and caressing her bare back, and the other woman looked like she was trying to gain the same measure of control that Myka was, with the same lack of result.

"Bedroom?" Emily finally asked in a strangled sort of voice and Myka nodded her head against Emily's.

"Yeah," she agreed, noting that her voice matched Emily's in its urgency. "Bedroom."

Myka helped Emily down from the counter and was led up the stairs to the far door. When they got there they paused, staring for a moment and Myka was suddenly nervous... but Emily whispered her name with the same urgency that she had in the kitchen and Myka was again consumed with the need to drive away the anguish in Emily’s eyes and replace it with something else entirely.

Determined to channel passion into tenderness, she sat on the edge of the bed and pulled Emily close to her, getting her to stand between her legs as she trailed her fingers up and down Emily's sides. "You're so beautiful," Myka whispered and didn't wait for a response to pull up her shirt to just under Emily's breasts and kiss just where her ribs met softer flesh. Myka felt hands in her hair and took it as encouragement and moved the kisses higher, until Emily was disposing of her own shirt and then guiding Myka's mouth where she wanted it to go.

They both ended up on the bed moments later and Myka hovered above her, one arm supporting her weight and the other tracing Emily's sides, up her neck, and brushing away her hair until Emily's still clothed hips rocked against Myka's with a strangled _please,_ and Myka couldn't wait any longer.

She removed both their remaining clothing slowly and painted kisses across Emily’s sternum, her ribs, her stomach, drew desire with every tender caress of her hands, every mark of her fingers, every swipe of her tongue. She took her, held her, kissed her, pleased her, until the last vestiges of that hurt were driven far from either of their minds, until Emily finally gasped and cried out, grinding up against Myka, and found release.

"How are you so perfect?" Emily murmured into Myka's hair when she had found her breath, leaving a lazy kiss against her neck as she snuggled into Myka's side, and Myka trailed her fingers over Emily's back. "I knew you were wonderful, but I never imagined that being perfect was something that anyone could actually achieve. Yet somehow, you have appeared to prove me wrong."

Myka turned her head closer to Emily's. "No one is perfect. Especially not me."

"You saw the me that I try to hide," Emily continued, in the same soft voice. "The one that I keep at bay — the anger, the helplessness — and you managed, in that moment, to drive her away and make me feel loved."

Myka was silent as she thought of her words, her fingers still brushing Emily's bare back. "And how do you feel now?" Myka asked and Emily finally looked up at her, her eyes clear but still dark with arousal.

When she answered, it was almost with a growl. "In control." She paused, and her free hand trailed across Myka's chest, down her stomach, and rested just above where Myka wanted her the most. "Let me show you."

Myka could barely nod her assent before Emily did show her. Twice.

 

* * *

 

Myka woke to a warm body in her arms and she blearily blinked at the room around her. The sun was peeking past the curtains bathing parts of the room in a soft glow, and she could see some of their clothing strewn carelessly around the bed. She closed her eyes again and pulled Emily closer, breathing in her soft scent and planting a kiss to her forehead.

Emily's bare legs were tangled in her own and her head was now tucked under Myka's chin. Myka could feel Emily's breath on her neck, and she smiled in contentment.

Emily made a happy humming sound as she snuggled in closer to Myka. "Are you waking up?" Myka whispered, her eyes still closed against the morning light.

"I think I must still be dreaming," was the reply and Myka had to wonder how she managed to be so charming while still half-asleep. Emily wiggled up closer to Myka and kissed her neck lazily, and then leaned her chin up, finally opening her eyes and blinking into the light.

It seemed that as soon as her eyes had focused, they immediately found Myka's mouth, and Myka barely had to move to capture Emily's lips with her own in another soft and lazy kiss. "Mmm, not dreaming," Emily said, and when they pulled apart, she had a playful expression. "If I were dreaming, you wouldn't have such atrocious morning breath."

Myka's chuckle was low and she made a face back at the smaller woman. "You know, I brushed my teeth before coming over here last night, but I didn't think I'd need to bring my toothbrush along with me."

"Mmm, you should always brush your teeth after _eating_ , darling," she said in a suggestive tone, and Myka could feel warmth in her chest and cheeks when Emily's meaning came apparent, but before she could respond Emily rolled over to the edge of the bed and grabbed a silk robe along the way. When she stood and turned around, Myka saw that the deep V in the robe reached to Emily's waist, giving her an enticing view.

"I think that I might need some help with my personal care," Emily said with an overly innocent voice as she practically swaggered towards her ensuite. "Just for some of the hard-to-reach places, of course." She barely made it through the door when she loosened the robe off her neck to display her back, looking towards Myka over one of her shoulders. "Coming?" She paused, giving Myka the time to let her eyes rake over her bare back. "Or shall I arrange for you to _come_  after my own needs are met?"

Myka gulped, but Emily didn't wait for a response as she now fully dropped her robe, and walked out of view, the sound of water coming from beyond the doorway.  It only took Myka a moment to shake away her stupor before eagerly pushing away the sheets and following her in, and finally adding to the playful banter with her own suggestive, "I couldn't have you getting _wet_ all by yourself."

 And for all the washing they did, they sure didn't leave the shower any cleaner.

It was only when they made their way back into Emily's bedroom (Myka searching for her underwear) that real life finally managed to break into their bubble. "Do you have to go into work today?" Emily asked when she had found a t-shirt to cover herself, and not quite making eye contact as Myka reached for her own shirt.

When she was appropriately covered her hand hesitated over her pants where her phone was still attached to the belt. She had already had it on silent for far longer than she should have, and even though she was off today and Pete was covering for her, she still felt the need to check up on all three girls...

"It's alright if you do. I came on quite strong, and last night I showed to you the rather undesirable parts of my psyche and so I understand if you wish to make a quick exit, or—"

While Emily was speaking, Myka walked over to her and silenced her with a kiss. "I like you very much, Emily, and how much you care about your work just makes me like you more. But I do I have to check for messages."

Emily gave her a woeful smile, and then busied herself fixing up the bed and her own discarded clothing. With a sigh, Myka took out her phone to find quite a few notifications.

The first was an email from Inspector Valda with a file attached, though she figured she would get to that later. He must have had another long night, because it came in just before midnight. Then a text from Pete, shortly after: _Valda cc:d me on an email meant for you.*hi five for not answering, but call me?_ Then Steve at about 6AM: _Pete sent me a file and a text that both need interpreting. What's going on?_ Claudia texted shortly after with: _wtf M I need deets bc you're investigating your gf? And what's the Wells connection? (at library all day. Meet me here.)_ and then just moments before: _Doing research you should be a part of. Library. Now._

Myka shook her head at the texts, trying to figure out what had happened. She supposed that the file Valda sent was the police report from Emily's accident, and that he had assumed that it was something that she and Pete were both working on (like every other case they had worked on with Valda), but the rest?

She must have been making a face at the phone, because Emily responded with, "Myka, is everything okay?"

She composed herself, and thought back to the previous day's lunch with Pete. She originally came here to ask Emily about her past, to confront her about the bits of her story that didn't quite make sense, but when she had arrived and seen Emily in such a state, all those questions seemed unimportant. Questions that seemed even more important, now.

Briefly, she wondered if Emily had known, and had seduced her on purpose – but that was ridiculous. She shook her head with a smile, and placed her phone back in its holster. "Just Claudia. She's having some boy problems and wanted me to come by for advice."

If Emily saw through her lie, she didn't say anything. "Well," she said quietly. "You shouldn't leave her waiting."

The mood had changed and Myka couldn't find her way back to the playful exchanges of the morning, and so instead she finished dressing and followed Emily out of her room and back downstairs, silently retrieving her off-duty side arm.

Emily just stared as she affixed it under her jacket, and suddenly Myka couldn't shake the feeling that she was getting kicked out, that she had just been used. "I guess I'll just go..." she trailed off, unsure of what the protocol was in instances like these, but then Emily softened.

"I'm sorry, Myka. It feels a little bit like I have an emotional hangover, with both the extreme sadness and our intimacy of last night. But be sure, I would like to see you again. Perhaps properly, with a nice dinner out and arguing over who should pay the bill?"

Myka could feel herself softening despite her conflicted feelings about her missed messages, but she still stepped closer to the other woman, tilting her chin up and kissing her gently. "I'd like that," she responded, and Myka knew that she was telling the truth.


End file.
